‘Dear Kannadigas…’: Man who peeled off stickers hiding Hindi instructions in Bengaluru Metro apologizes

A man who peeled stickers hiding Hindi instructions on Bengaluru's Metro train faced flack from pro-Kannada language activists after which he apologized in a video message.

Published on: Jan 31, 2023, 17:30:40 IST

By Yamini C S

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A man who peeled off stickers that were hiding Hindi instructions in Bengaluru's Namma Metro train apologized to Kannadigas after Kannada activists paid a visit to his office on Monday, pro-Kannada activist Rupesh Rajanna said.

A video of the man, identified as Akshat Gupta, peeling stickers meant to hide Hindi instructions in Bengaluru's Metro went viral earlier. (@ForeverBLRU/Twitter)

A video of the man, identified as Akshat Gupta, peeling stickers meant to hide Hindi instructions in Bengaluru's Metro went viral earlier, with many language activists opposing the act. The video had over 15,000 views on Twitter at the time this article was being written.

It showed Akshat Gupta questioning why instructions in Hindi have been hidden with tape, after which he proceeds to peels them off and reveal the said Hindi instructions. This prompted a flood of comments on social media, with internet users asking why there should be instructions in Hindi on a metro train in Bengaluru.

“Why so much hate for our Southern languages in North India? Why don't we have Telugu/Kannada/Tamil/Malayalam signboards in your metros?” one user asked.

“Our own language is enough for us in our state, English is used as the communication language, we don't need any other language,” another said.

Following a renewed debate on Hindi imposition in Karnataka, language activists paid a visit to Gupta's office, after which a new video of Gupta emerged, in which he apologized for peeling off the stickers.

“Today we visited the company of Akshat Gupta, who had removed a Hindi sticker in the metro train and justified the imposition of Hindi, and convinced him that Kannadigas will not tolerate the imposition of Hindi,” Rupesh Rajanna, former Bigg Boss contestant and social activist, wrote on Twitter.

In the fresh video, Gupta is heard saying, “Hi all Kannadigas, it's by mistake I removed the stickers, so I am sorry for it. I am also against Hindi imposed on regional language, so I respect my karma bhoomi.”

“Please accept my apology,” he adds.

Bengaluru cyberspace, primarily Twitter, witnesses language-related debates time and again.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yamini C S
Yamini CS is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with nearly six years of experience in digital journalism. She is part of the India News desk, where she works on a wide range of stories cutting across civic issues, city-based developments, politics, governance, public policy, breaking news, trending topics, and international affairs that have an impact on India. Her role involves tracking fast-moving developments, verifying information from official and on-ground sources, and presenting news in a clear, accessible format for a digital-first audience. A significant part of her work includes handling live blogs during major news events, such as elections, court verdicts, political developments, civic disruptions, protests, weather-related alerts, and unfolding national or international incidents. Through live coverage, she focuses on timely updates to help readers follow complex stories as they evolve. Before moving to the broader India News desk, Yamini was associated with the Bengaluru desk at Hindustan Times, where she extensively covered urban governance, infrastructure, traffic and transport issues, weather events, public grievances, and civic administration in the city. This experience strengthened her grounding in city reporting and sharpened her focus on citizen-centric journalism. She began her career as a correspondent with Reuters after completing a postgraduate diploma in journalism from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media. Her early training instilled a strong emphasis on accuracy, sourcing, and news ethics, which continue to shape her reporting style. Outside of work, Yamini enjoys reading across genres, listening to music, and spending time with her family, which help her maintain balance in a fast-paced newsroom environment.Read More

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